Keep ticks off, remove them from, your body

Q. I am concerned about ticks getting on my children when they play outside. What should I know about them? — Shari, Fallsburg

Susan M. Dollard

Q. I am concerned about ticks getting on my children when they play outside. What should I know about them? — Shari, Fallsburg

A. Ticks cannot jump or fly, but often climb grasses and shrubs in order to come into contact with people or animals walking by so they can attach themselves and feed on blood.

Ticks have the potential to transmit diseases such as Lyme disease. Most tick-borne diseases require the tick to be attached and feeding for several hours before the person gets infected.

Tick bites are often painless at first, and most people do not know they have been bitten, so checking yourself and your pet for ticks immediately after being in an infested area is important.

Numerous species of ticks exist in the United States and worldwide, but not all species of ticks transmit disease. If you need assistance identifying a tick, try contacting your Cornell Cooperative Extension office.

Here are some tips for protecting yourself and your pets from ticks:

After being outdoors, check yourself, your children and your pets regularly and remove any ticks you may find. When outdoors try to avoid contact with tall grasses and shrubs that may be harboring ticks. Wear closed-toed shoes and light-colored clothing so you can see ticks on your clothing. Tuck pant legs into socks to prevent ticks from finding your ankles. Consider using a tick repellent on exposed skin and clothing according to directions. Reduce the ticks in your yard by keeping leaf litter, tall grasses, shrubs and bushes away from areas you use regularly. Keeping deer and rodents out of your yard can help reduce the number of ticks. If further tick control around your home is necessary, you may also consider treating your yard with pesticides designed to control ticks. Always read and follow directions. Pets can bring ticks into your home. Consider talking to your veterinarian about the options for controlling ticks on your pets.

Lyme disease is a potentially serious bacterial infection, transmitted through the bite of certain species of ticks. The disease affects humans and a number of animals, including pets and livestock.

Lyme disease manifests itself in many ways, and, if left untreated, may progress through several stages. Symptoms can mimic the flu, such as headache, fatigue, stiffness or neck pain, fever and swollen glands.

The most definitive early symptom is a gradually expanding circular or oval-shaped rash. This rash only appears in 70 percent of infected individuals.

If you have any of these symptoms after being bitten by a tick, consult a doctor.

Ixodes scapularis, commonly known as the deer tick or black-legged tick, is important because it is a potential carrier of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. The deer tick is the vector of Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan encephalitis.

You can generally recognize an unengorged adult female blacklegged tick from its black legs and scutum (the area behind the head) and its orange to reddish body. It is about one-tenth of an inch long, or generally smaller than the American dog tick (also called the wood tick), and it has long mouthparts. An adult male is about a 16th of an inch long and dark brown. Adult males attach but do not feed.

Identifying ticks based solely on size and color is often challenging, especially when you encounter immature and/or ticks filled with blood. It is important to know what species of tick has bitten you, since the American dog tick and other ticks are not known to transmit any disease.

Susan M. Dollard is the Master Gardener program coordinator at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Sullivan County.